Defense Minister Yoav Galant said yesterday that Israel is "thinking of a governance alternative" to the "Hamas" group in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, AFP reported.
Galant had previously said he opposed Israel's military rule in Gaza, where "Hamas" seized power from the Palestinian Authority in 2007.
"While we are conducting our significant military operations, the defense establishment is simultaneously evaluating a governance alternative to "Hamas", Gallant said, according to a statement from his office.
The minister described a "framework" that includes "isolating areas" of Gaza and clearing them of "Hamas" fighters, as well as "and introducing other forces that will allow for the formation of an alternative governance".
Gallant said last month that "the day after "Hamas" will help "Palestinian entities to take control of Gaza, accompanied by international partners".
On May 15, he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the lack of a post-war plan for the Palestinian territory, which was under direct Israeli rule between 1967 and 2005.
Galant called on Netanyahu "to make a decision and declare that Israel will not establish civilian control over the Gaza Strip".
We recall that the war was triggered by the unprecedented attack by "Hamas" on October 7, which led to the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.
"Hamas" also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 whom the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory bombing and ground offensive have killed at least 36,439 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
Galant said on Sunday that "the military operation on the one hand and the creation of the potential for an alternative to governance on the other will allow us to achieve two of the goals of this war: the elimination of Hamas as the ruling and military authority in Gaza and the return of the hostages."
"We will not accept Hamas governance" in Gaza at any stage of any process aimed at ending the war," he said.
Meanwhile, according to Gallant, the military operation in Rafah, which began in early May, is "advancing above and below ground."
Israel said its forces had attacked tunnels in the Rafah area that Hamas uses to smuggle weapons into Gaza.
Representatives from the United States, Israel and Egypt wrapped up a meeting in Cairo on Sunday. Egypt is sticking to its position that Israel must withdraw militarily from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing before it can operate again, two Egyptian security sources said.
Egyptian security sources said Sunday's meeting was positive, although there was no agreement to reopen the crossing. Egypt's delegation at the meeting said it would be open to European observers at the border to monitor its operation by the Palestinian Authority if the Palestinian Authority agreed to resume operations.
Israeli and US officials said they would work quickly to remove obstacles to the crossing's operation, Egyptian sources said.
Israel captured the crossing from the Gaza side in May during its offensive in the town of Rafah on the southern edge of the enclave. This angered Egypt, which threatened to stop cooperating with Israel.
Although Egypt facilitated the entry of aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing last week, the reopening of Rafah is crucial as aid agencies warn of a looming famine in Gaza.
Israel has accepted a framework agreement to end the war in Gaza proposed by US President Joe Biden, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday. Ofir Falk, Netanyahu's chief foreign policy adviser, told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper that Biden's offer was "a deal we agreed to - not a good deal, but we want all the hostages released."
Falk added that there were many details that needed to be worked out and that Israel's conditions, including "the release of the hostages and the destruction of Hamas as a genocidal terrorist organization," had not changed.
President Biden has presented a plan to end the war that includes a ceasefire and the return of some hostages, followed by negotiations for a long-term cessation of hostilities and the release of the remaining hostages.
"Hamas" has given preliminary support to Biden's initiative, with senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan telling "Al Jazeera" that "Biden's speech includes positive ideas, but we want them to be implemented within the framework of a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands."